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Switch Up Your Eurorack Sequencer

This week in our Pulse Tips series, we’re taking an previous example and flipping it around, using a series of short sequences with a sequential switch (the Doepfer A-151 V2) to track the Y axis of the Make Noise Analog Memory, Pressure Points and Brains. This technique allows for more human interaction with your sequences, and is a handy method for creating complex arpeggios and the impression of chord progressions.

We’ve looked at using sequential switches before, using the Sputnik Modular Selector and 5 Step Voltage Source to create longer patterns by combining the 4 shorter sequences. In our example, we used a faster clock to step through each sequence, and a slower clock (generally the first clock divided by 2, 3 or 4) to trigger the sequential switch to toggle between inputs.

In this arrangement, we start by swapping the clocks from the sequencer and the switch, creating a different sequence using the same notes. Similar to the Make Noise René, we can now sequence our steps vertically in the Y axis, rather than the X axis as we often see with this routing.

This may also be useful when Brains is not clocked. When Pressure Points is not advancing automatically, the touch plates can be used to hop from one 4 step sequence to another. This can be useful for creating arpeggio sequences, jumping from one to the next to create the impression of a chord sequence, rather than a simple 16 step melody. Additionally, by patching the T-Gate output from Brains to the reset input on the sequential switch, we can reset the arpeggio pattern every time a plate is touched.

Can you think of some other uses for this routing? Let us know in the comments!